This Old House
by ninjatomomi
Summary: When Alfred discovered the house he knew he had to buy it. Too bad he never really thought about why it was left vacant for almost a century or about those footsteps in the empty halls, the feelings of being watched or about that picture of the little boy
1. The House, the Bear, and the Picture

This Old House

**Edit: I changed the age of the house so...yeah. You might want to read the second and third paragraphs again because that's where the changes were made.**

**Just to like let you guys know, I really don't remember how I got the title...Was it the name of a TV show? Ehh...I don't remember, it just sounded nice since the story is about a house and it's history...Anyway this story totally came to me last night when I was trying to go to sleep. It shouldn't be that long and I'll try to update it on days that I don't have updates for LTLABL.**

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When Alfred first bought his new house in the suburb close to his cousin Arthur, he thought that the price was too good to be true. The house was relatively cheap but was located in a fairly wealthy neighborhood of newly restored pre Victorian aged houses. The price of the house that Alfred bought was odd since most of the other houses in the same area cost a small fortune, but then again, his house was not restored like the others.

On the outside, the house looked its time and was very much old. Some of the windows were broken, the back door was falling off its hinges, and the yard was almost like a jungle. The intriguing part of the house, however, was that it was older than all the other houses by about 100 years. The house had to be at least 200 to 250 years of age in total, making all of the other houses about 100.

Of what little Alfred did know about the building, one thing was certain. He knew from the real estate agent that the house hadn't been lived in for about little over one hundred of those years it had existed. At the time, he figured that the low price of the pre Victorian age house was due to the fact that it was a fix it house and he reasoned that a deal such as this one will never come around again. Though for a moment, he had thought about why the house hadn't been lived in for almost a century.

When he arrived at the new house, Alfred helped the moving people place all of his boxes and things into the house. Afterwards, he began to move some of the boxes into the specific rooms to which they belonged. The kitchen things like the boxes marked "PLATES" and "POTS" were left unopened for tomorrow on the kitchen counter while the one that said "BATH STUFF" was placed into the bathroom conveniently close to the room he had picked to be his bedroom. Once he was done moving the specifically marked boxes to the rooms they were designated to, Alfred decided to tour the house he had so recently purchased.

He drifted through the halls and rooms, quietly and almost ghost like. He discovered many interesting, but dust covered rooms that he figured could be used as storage or could later be converted into something useful. Of all his little discoveries Alfred had made that day while touring his house, his favorite and most intriguing had to be the dusty grey bear he found sitting on the bed in one of the extra bedrooms.

Now this room, he concluded, had to belong to a child. The room was scarcely furnished and decorated, as being the only pieces of furniture were a bed, a dresser, and a large mysterious chest. The walls were a faded, dusty blue color, drained and washed of the original light blue it once was. The drawer was covered in layers of dust and stood against the empty wall, closest to the small, child sized bed. Of the few things in the room, the one object that caught Alfred's eye the most, however, was the large, presumably empty, chest at the foot of the bed.

From where he stood in the doorway of the room, Alfred walked slowly over to the chest and attempted to open it. The hinges creaked from being moved for the first time in over one hundred years, and he was finally able to open the trunk after a good few minutes of trying to push open the top. He was met with a startling surprise.

Inside the trunk, he found clothes, small, child sized clothes. They were also boy's clothing, not dresses and other girl associated clothing. He had assumed early on that the child that occupied the room was a girl due to the bear he had found. But as he looked at the clothing, he realized that it was for a boy, and not just any boy at that too. They looked like they could only fit a child about eleven or twelve. Alfred dug through the chest some more and felt something hard and cool. He grabbed the thing and pulled it out, finding it to be a dust covered picture frame. Rubbing off the offending substance, Alfred found himself face to face with the picture of a young boy.

The boy looked about twelve, the right size for the clothes in the chest. As Alfred examined the boy some more, he took note of the young man's nice wavy hair, his large, soft eyes, and the white bear clutched tightly in his hands, the same bear he had found, just less white. While he stared at the picture, he came to the conclusion that maybe the chest, room and bear belonged to him, the mysterious boy. As Alfred examined the picture longer, something about it bothered him. He stared intently at the black and white photo, and it finally hit him. The boy looked like he was living in the 1800's. If that was true, he and his family were probably the last to live in the house.

When Alfred looked up from the picture, he noticed that the grayish bear he had found earlier was now closer to him, placed ever so lightly on the corner of the bed closest to the edge and overlooking chest and its contents.

"Funny, I thought that the bear was next to the pillows…" He thought to himself.

When he got up from his crouch on the floor, Alfred noticed an indentation on the smooth surface of the bed near the bear. It was as if a person had been lying on the bed and was watching him as he looked through the chest's contents.

"Hmm…" He said to himself, as he quickly decided to straighten the covers of the bed, eliminating the indentation. He picked up the bear as he left, deciding to take it with him and wash it up since it was so filthy. It would look so much better than before and would probably look nice on the he saw near the fireplace.

As he walked through the halls to the bathroom nearest his room, Alfred could have sworn that he heard the sound of light footed feet following him. Quickly, he turned around, wanting to make sure that nothing was indeed following him and that it was just his imagination. When he saw nothing he concluded that he was just tired from the long day of travel to his new home and that his mind was just playing with him.

When he found the nearest bathroom, he went directly to the box he had moved in earlier, pulling out a bar of soap. He turned on the faucet to what he thought was a nice warm temperature and waited as the rusty colored water poured out of the pipes, further reminding Alfred of how old the house really was. He let out a yawn and was vaguely aware that he was getting sleepy.

Once the water was clean, he plugged the drain and filled up the basin with the nice warm water. He placed the dirty bear in and began to wash it gently, trying not to tear or otherwise ruin the plush.

While he cleaned, Alfred had the strange sensation that someone was watching him. It was that intense feeling and every few minutes, when the feeling was too much to bear, he would look over his shoulder hoping to get a look at what was the root of the strange sensation. Every time he looked, however, he was met with the same old wall, covered in old peeling wall paper. Hardly something that could possibly stare at him, let alone cause the feeling he was experiencing.

Once the bear was clean, Alfred pulled out a towel out of the same box in which he got the soap and tenderly dried the bear. After he deemed it dry enough, Alfred moved back into the hall way and made his way to the room he deemed as his. Tired from all his work and travel, he collapsed onto the bed and pulled up the covers to his chin, unaware that he still held the now white bear in his arms. Before he could turn out the lamp next to his bed, Alfred fell asleep, blissfully oblivious of the eyes that were silently watching him. With a click, the lamp turned off by itself and the light pitter patter of feet echoed through the hall way back to the faded blue room.

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**Did you like it so far? Out of curiosity, do you think it should be continued?**

**Well, I'm tired...No more school for me! Hooray! At least now I'll have time to read, volunteer, and write these awesome stories :D  
**


	2. There's a Ghost in My House!

This Old House Chapter 2

**Hi there everyone! I can't believe how popular this story is! When I woke up a few hours after posting this story I had like 14 e-mails! I was so happy that so many of you faved, reviewed, and alerted this story! Thank you so much! So,because of all the enjoyment people have gotten out of it, I decided to continue this story :D and I think that I'll be able to update it fairly quickly too. **

**I think that while I write this one out, I'll wait to work on LTLABL. I want it to be the best story it can be and for that to happen I can't work on two projects simultaneously.**

**Oh yeah, before you read this chapter, I suggest going back to the first chapter and read the second and third paragraphs in the beginning. I changed the age of the house that Alfred bought so it might make one part towards the end a little more understandable. I'm sorry that there isn't much action in this chapter but is should be coming either in the next one or the one after that :D **

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It had been three months since Alfred had first moved into his pre Victorian age house and in that time he managed to make the house look spectacular. Working with his hands and own creativity around thirteen to fifteen hours a day, Alfred managed to breathe new life into his once dead house. He stripped and repainted the inside walls, made new shutters for the windows, and even created new doors for the ones barely attached to their hinges, all the while trying to keep the house's old Victorian flare. He replaced the old, leaky, rusty plumbing and added the new electronics and appliances he needed. He even managed to fix up the old counters and cupboards in the kitchen. In those three hectic months, Alfred somehow managed to turn his drab house into something that he was proud of, something that reflected his hard work and bright personality.

Even though the house looked almost new, there was still something strange left over from its past, Alfred could feel it. Everywhere he went in the house, there was always a sense of dread, a feeling of sorrow and depression, drifting above his head like a thick, solid cloud. He knew that the gloominess in the house had altered his mood and changed it drastically since he had moved there. Once happy and cheerful, he was now grumpy, cranky and just plain irritable. At first he concluded that his moodiness was a result of spending so much time working on the house but once the house was complete, he found that he was the same, moody without a reason.

There were other things that bugged Alfred about the house as well, other than its apparent ability to cause grumpiness and other related feelings within him, but the things were only in the form of strange feelings. Feelings like the one of being watched as he walked about the house or the one of being followed as he went in and out of the garden. The constant sense someone being there but not drove him absolutely mad.

"What could it be! Is it my imagination? What is it? I want to know what it is!" He cried out in frustration one day, never realizing that he should be careful for what he wished for…

Only after this day, did Alfred began to see him, the mysterious boy from the picture, but only in fleeting glances from the corner of his eye. Sometimes, it was almost as if he had never really seen the boy in the first place. Physical events also began to happen as well with the vague sightings of the boy.

The proceedings that happened included things like objects and furniture being moved, food being eaten when he was sure he, Alfred, hadn't eaten it, and the light sound of feet running throughout the house. Alfred decided to ignore all of the weird events that occurred around him, contributing it to him just not remembering, he was very forgetful. But like all things, Alfred soon reached the point where he couldn't ignore or feign forgetfulness of the paranormal activity any longer.

When he finally had had enough of all the mysterious happenings going on in his house, the handprint in his homemade jello was the final straw, he decided to give his cousin Arthur a call and invite him over. Even though he didn't want to acknowledge Arthur's so called gift to see and interact with spirits (he had teased his cousin many times about ghosts not existing), Alfred's want for his house to be normal outweighed the perseverance of his own pride. He decided to invite Arthur over for dinner and a tour of his house, hoping that his cousin would tell him if he had an unexpected guest without him having to ask. After he had made his decision, Alfred promptly called his cousin and together, they decided to get together on Saturday, three days from the current date.

Somehow, he managed to survive the next three days and early in the process, he discovered that the thing supposedly haunting his abode had taken up stealing small objects around the house. The day after he had phoned his cousin, Alfred discovered a few of his things missing such as his cell phone, mini laptop, and the TV remote. It didn't bother him that some of the items, like the laptop, were missing (he could always use his laptop, the mini one was only for when he traveled for his business travel) but the other items he absolutely needed, such as the remote and cell phone. Alfred soon found himself going through a TV/communication withdraw. God he wished it was Saturday.

When the day finally rolled around, Arthur found himself face to face with his cousin, who when he opened the door, was displaying all of the symptoms of withdraw.

"Arthur! You're finally here! Please!" Alfred begged, grabbing onto the front of his cousin's shirt. "Please contact the spirit that's haunting my house! I neeeeeeed the TV remote and my cell phone back. I haven't talked to anyone or watched TV for almost three whole days, not including the day I called you!"

"Geeze Alfred! Let go! You're stretching out my shirt!" Arthur exclaimed as he managed to free himself of Alfred's iron grip. "Now what were you saying about your house being haunted?"

"Yes! Yes! There's a ghost living in my house! It likes to steal my things and eat my food!"

"Alfred, I thought that you didn't believe in ghosts."

"No, no, no! I take it all back! I need you to get rid of it! It's making my life hell! Please Arthur! I'm begging you!" Alfred, at this point, was on his knees.

"Fine. I'll do it but you have to do one thing."

"I'll do anything! Just make it go away so I can have my house back!"

"After I get rid of the ghost, you have to admit that ghosts and other mystical things exist. Ok?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then. Let me inside and I'll try to find this so called ghost."

Alfred got up off his knees and let his cousin inside of the house. He then decided to give him a tour of the place, letting his cousin go into each closed room by himself (He had explained to Alfred that he needed to go in alone so he could contact the spirit). As they walked from room to room, Alfred would see if Arthur had sensed anything once he come out from behind the door. With every room, however, the answer was the same, a firm negative.

Eventually, the two reached the final room, the one where Alfred had found the white bear and the picture. Alfred opened the door for his cousin to look inside and watched as Arthur slipped behind the door.

Once he had entered the room, Arthur could tell that he was no longer in the same era from which he came. The room had changed and reflected a time in which modern things did not exist. The objects in the room had changed too, Arthur noticed. The bed was in the same part of the room it had been in but the sheets were of different color and style. There also now was a desk in the corner of the room and a chair was placed next to the window. Arthur could see that outside the window, there were no streets or other houses, just emptiness and a wide dirt road. Even with the change of scenery and the knowledge that he was back in time, it was the body sitting in the chair by the window that startled Arthur the most.

In the chair, resting his head on thin arms on the window sill was a young looking boy. Arthur slowly walked up to him, deciding that it would be a good idea to get the boy's attention. He placed his hand on the other's shoulder, surprising the boy. He whipped his head around, fear evident in his watery eyes. The boy had been crying, a black eye marred his otherwise pretty face.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Arthur asked. The boy gave him a look that showed fear and distrust in Arthur. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He said, trying to reassure the mysterious child.

"He…he hit me."

"Who did? Your father?" The boy shook his head.

"No, the man with the pointy hat and mustache did. His hands are always cold and a chill always follows him when he walks. He's the one who likes to hit me."

"Don't your parents stop him?" Another shake of the head and the boy looked down at the floor.

"Momma's too busy to pay attention to me."

"What about your father?"

"He's dead."

"Oh…"

"What's your name?" He asked, wanting to know more about the boy.

"Matthew." He smiled as he looked back up at Arthur.

"Tell him that I want my bear back. Then I'll give him back the things I took too."

"What?"

Suddenly, Arthur was back in the bedroom he had entered. The desk and chair were gone as was the little boy he had been talking to. Realizing what had just happened, Arthur scurried to the door, flinging it open and finding Alfred with a confused face.

"Done already? You just closed the door!"

"What?" Arthur shook his head. "Alfred! He wants his bear back! Where is it?"

"What are you talking about? Who wants the bear?"

"Matthew! Matthew wants his bear back! Go get it! He said he'll give you back your stuff if you return it."

"Ok, it's in my room on the shelf." He ran off and got the bear from where he had placed it. He then scurried back to Arthur, who was still waiting by the other door.

"Ok, here. Where should we put it?"

"On the bed. That way he'll find it."

The two went back into the room and placed the bear onto the bed. Afterwards, they left the room, opting to go back downstairs into the living room.

"I still don't see how I'm going to get my stuff back. I mean how is he go-"

Alfred cut himself off when he saw the pile of electronics and other stuff he had been missing sitting on the dining room table. As the two examined the recovered items, Alfred cradling his precious remote in his hands and whispering to it sweet words as he did, they discovered a small, folded piece of paper. It was a note, they realized, a note addressed to Alfred in small, neat, cursive letters.

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**Can you guess who the guy is that Matthew's describing? I hope that I made it somewhat clear about who it was. I'm sorry for such a crappy ending but I wanted the next chapter to focus on the contents of the letter and on who it describes. I'm curious to see if anyone recognizes where the hand print in the jello came from. Here's a hint, it was from an episode of A Haunting on Discovery Channel. Does that help? If not, maybe I'm just the only person who can remember strange things like that...D: **

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!**

**P.S. Please review :D  
**


	3. A Histoy Lesson and a Warning

This Old House Chapter 3

**Well, this chapter took some effort to write. I blame the italic parts. I'm really sorry if Arthur isn't in character...before this point I have only used him once and he was a minor character. I hope I didn't screw him up too badly. Anyway, congrats to the people who guessed the identity of villain :D I won't tell you if you got it right, you just have to read...Well, I hope that everything makes sense in this chapter, if it doesn't just send me some suggestions and I'll try to make it better. **

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"Well, what are you waiting for? Read the letter" Arthur instructed, impatiently wanting to know what was written inside of it.

The two of them stared at the folded piece of paper addressed to Alfred. Arthur knew that it had to be from Matthew, since it was found with all of the electronics he promised to return, but he questioned why the young spirit had wanted to contact them.

"If Matthew wanted to tell Alfred something," Arthur considered, "why hadn't he said something when he was talking to me? Maybe he had thought of it after he had left…"

As he watched Alfred grab the paper from the heap of electronics and open it, Arthur began to feel as if he was being watched. Tearing his eyes away from his cousin, he looked around the dining room. What he found frightened him to the very core.

There, standing at the main hallway entrance to the dining room was a man. No, not a man, a phantom and no ordinary one at that. As he stared at the ghost in the hall, Arthur noticed that the other had a mustache and a pointy hat and it was then that he knew that it was the man who tormented Matthew. Arthur could feel the evil stemming from the man as well as the hate and coldness that chilled the air around the two living people. The man made a terrifying face at Arthur, causing a shiver to run down his back.

"Hey Arthur," he heard his cousin say. "Is it just me or did it get really cold in here? I wonder if the thermostat broke. It's been acting haywire for the past few days, always making the temperature in some of the rooms drop. Geeze it's cold in here."

Arthur tore his gaze away from the mysterious and dreadful man to face Alfred.

"No, it wasn't just you, Alfred. Wait, you said that you've been having these temperature problems before?"

"Yeah, why? It's not like it's a big deal or anything. I'll just have to get a new thermostat."

"It's not the thermostat that's causing your problems, Alfred. You have another spirit in your house and this one is dangerous. I just know he is. From what you're saying, I think that whenever he enters a room, he'll drop the temperature."

"Another one? I thought that you said only Matthew haunted this place. Great now we have to get two of them out of here. How did you know he was here, I mean besides the sudden coldness."

"I don't know how it happened. I just suddenly felt like I was being watched and there he was," he pointed to the entryway, "staring at us with hate burning in his eyes. I don't like this Alfred. I don't think that he likes our idea of removing him and Matthew from the house. What if he decides to hurt us?"

"Pshaw, no specter is going to hurt me! Anyway, forget this ghost. Do you want to know what the letter says?"

"Alright. Here, give it to me." Alfred handed the note to his cousin's outstretched hand and watched as Arthur unfolded the piece of paper and observed neat, handwritten letters.

_ You are in great danger. He will not let you free me from the house! Nothing will stop him from killing you if you decide to continue with your plans._

"He's warning us." Arthur thought. "He's probably talking about that man I had seen earlier."

"Alfred!" Arthur exclaimed suddenly, startling the other. "Come on! We're going to do some research at the local library." He grabbed Alfred's arm and led him to the door. "Come on! Stop dragging your feet!"

"But, but Iggy!" Alfred whined, using his pet name for his cousin, "I don't want to go! Why do we have to do research! I thought that you were going to get rid of the thing that was disturbing my house!"

"Alfred, that 'thing' has a name and it's Matthew. And besides, you now have more than one ghost in your house." Arthur nagged as he and Alfred got into his car. The two were soon off to the town's small library, which was conveniently located very close to Alfred's house.

"Well, why do we have to do research? I thought you could use your magic that you always brag about." Alfred grumpily pouted to his cousin in the car.

"It would be best if we knew a little more about the history of the house and the people who haunt it before we go and try to do anything."

The two soon arrived at the small library and discovered that hardly anyone was inside. They quickly made their way to the section that held all the information about the history of the township and started searching for appropriate books. When they were done, they had piled together roughly six large books and four binders full of old newspaper articles onto a nearby table. Slowly, they made their way through each of the books…

It had been hours since they had started and the pair had only gone through two of the large books and none of the binders.

"I can't take this anymore!" He angrily whispered to Arthur, who was sitting across from him, once their fifth hour at the library passed. "I literally read through the whole book and there was nothing about the house! Absolutely nothing!"

"Well check another one!" Arthur, equally angry and frustrated, whispered back. "We still have these other books to go through."

"Why? We both know that we aren't going to find anything!" Alfred almost shouted as he threw his hands up.

"Just do it!" Arthur ended the conversation and turned back to what he was studying.

Angry with his cousin's reply, Alfred visibly slumped onto his seat. He blindly groped for one of the other books and once he had one, grumpily looked at the cover.

"A Guide to Famous Buildings Around Town, From 1800 to 1945. Geeze, what a bore fest. Of all the books, I had to pick this one…Great."

Alfred opened the book and grabbed the pages, quickly flipping through them without really looking at what was on them. Suddenly, a picture caught his eyes and then it was gone. Stopping his quick flipping, he backtracked through the pages and found the picture again. A wave of shock crashed through him and he skimmed the page looking for anything that could tell him about his find.

"Arthur! Arthur come look!" He could barely hold in his excitement. "I found something!"

"You don't have to shout Alfred! I'm right next to you." Arthur came over from the other side of the table to see what his cousin had found. He looked over the other's shoulder and gasped.

A black and white picture of a large house decorated the chapter page. A sign on the outside of the building read "Williams Inn est.1780" in a fancy script and a family of three, a man; his wife; and a small baby, stood happily outside the building. In the corner of the picture, there was a small statement that read "the Williams family, circa 1800." After the two had examined the picture, Alfred turned the page and the two skimmed through some of the description about the house.

_The Williams Inn is the oldest building in town, located about a mile outside of the village in 1780. Opened in 1795, by Mr. John Williams and his wife Mary, the building housed many people who needed a day's rest before they had to keep heading westward, bound for a new beginning. The business boomed until about 1890 when the town became more developed and the need for large inns on the migration roads became nonexistent. _

_The area surrounding the inn was once open plains and the only stop outside of the town on the migration trail where people could get rest and supplies. However, as the years went by more and more prairie was sold and converted into housing plots for the nearby growing city. By the 1890's and early 1900's there was no need for the inn as it was now located in a semi residential area and the city transformed it into a buyable house._

_The Williams Family…_

As Alfred scanned ahead of his cousin through the details of the family that had built the house, he came upon an interesting paragraph.

_During the early 1800's, many tragedies plagued the Williams family. Mr. Williams contracted tuberculosis early in the year of 1804 and died three months later. Eight years later, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Matthew, disappeared and had never been seen again._

Underneath the paragraph was a portrait that showed what Matthew had looked like.

_At the time, Matthew's disappearance had been ruled as a homicide investigation, as many people who knew the boy knew that he would never leave his hard working mother. Many people believed that the local Russian immigrant, who went by the name of General Winter, was the one responsible for the boy's disappearance as he was known to stalk and hurt the boy whenever he helped out at the inn. When he was finally arrested, he was quickly released as there was little evidence and a lack of a body to support the theory of murder. The case against the suspect was soon thrown out and no other arrests were made. To this day, the fate of Matthew Williams is unknown and the case remains unsolved._

"Unsolved huh…Hey Arthur." Alfred placed the book down and faced his cousin. "Do you think that we can help him move on?"

"What do you mean?" He looked at his cousin quizzically, confused at what he was trying to get at.

"What I'm trying to say is that what if we were to help Matthew out. You know, like find his killer or something and close his case."

"Alfred, even if we do close his case, it won't help him. The only way we can absolutely aid the poor boy is to ask him about what he needs to be able to pass on."

Alfred's mouth dropped in shock. "What! If all we had to do was that, why didn't we do it in the first place?"

"Well," Arthur shrugged his shoulders "I needed to find out more about the spirit I saw and plus, we needed to find out more about Matthew as well. Anyway, in the book, it said that one of the suspects was a guy named General Winter right?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Well, if he was a suspect, his picture or a drawing of him would have to be in the paper when the story of Matthew's disappearance was being printed right?"

"Oh I get it! You might be able to see if his face matches the one of the ghost you saw this morning!" Alfred got up from his chair and grabbed one of the binders. "The year that Matthew disappeared was 1812 right?"

"Yes. While you look through that binder I'll look through one the other ones." Arthur went back to his seat and reached across the table, picking up a heavy blue binder.

It wasn't even ten minutes into their search when Alfred found something.

"Arthur! Come look! I found a paper with a drawing of what the general looked like."

Arthur got up from his chair and walked over to his cousin. Looking over his cousin's shoulder, he gasped and dropped the binder he was holding onto the floor.

"That's him, Alfred. That's the man I saw this morning. The one who looked as if he wanted to kill us."

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**I'm evil, I know. I felt that if I kept on writing, the chapter would have drug op and on. Well I guess that's it for now...and I may be able to post a chapter tomorrow (hopefully graduation practice will end fast and I won't spend that much time at the basketball potluck party thing even though I'm technically in the basketball period anymore. I need the underclassmen to sign my yearbook :P).**

**Don't forget to review. Oh and by the way thank you for so many reviews, alerts and faves. The most enjoyable thing in the world for me is waking up and seeing that I have, like ten e-mails, all from people who review, fave, or alert my stories :D**


	4. Whatever You do, Don't Freak Out

This Old House Chapter 4

**Damn you firefox and ! THere is no way I'm writing all of the stuff I just did again! To make things short I'm sorry that I couldn't post this chapter up earlier. **

**I also want all of you who reviewed, faved, and alerted my story, I want to thank you and tell you that you guys are awesome. (I'm sorry that these messages are so rushed today, I'm really tired and pissed off because the stupid site didn't save the first messages I wrote D:)  
**

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"A-Arthur, are you sure it's the same man?" Alfred glanced over his shoulder at his relative incredulously.

"I'm positive Alfred. I don't think that I can ever forget the hatred in the man's eyes."

Mesmerized by the picture of the lone suspect, the two continued to look at the article, trying to gather as much information about the case as possible from what they had. Unfortunately, they were unable to find very much because at the time of the felony, there was little evidence and a lack of a body to suggest anything other than the idea that the boy had run away.

"This is getting us nowhere Arthur!" Alfred complained after rereading the article for the third time. Even thought they had found a possible suspect in the form of General Winter, their frustrations began to build again due to all of the dead ends that kept popping up.

"I know, Alfred, but it's the only thing we have that can tell us anything." Arthur, just as tired and discouraged, said as he slumped into his chair.

The two let out a discontented and collected sigh. Suddenly, Alfred straightened and jumped up from his chair. He suddenly had an epiphany.

He faced his cousin, excitement on his face as he exclaimed, "Arthur! Why don't we go straight to the source?"

"What do you mean?" Confusion was written all over his features.

"Matthew! Why don't we ask Matthew what happened?"

By then, Alfred had run over to his cousin's side of the table, dancing a little as he went.

Arthur's face brightened up as he thought over what Alfred had said.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that? For once Alfred, you had a good idea."

"Thanks!" He exclaimed, a large grin plastered to his face. "Hey…Wait a minute. Did you just insult me?"

"Maybe…"

The two gathered up their belongings and walked out of the library. Even though their search had revealed scarcely anything, they were happy that they still obtained some information about the house and a few questions to ask the little spirit manifesting itself there.

"Hey Arthur," Alfred asked as they were speeding off towards his residence, "what are we going to do if Matthew isn't in the house? Like, what if we, can't find him? How are we going to contact him?"

"That's easy Alfred. I'll just get in touch with him using my spiritual powers. I'll even set up a notepad and pen so that he can write out what he wants to tell us."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just do that in the first place? Then we wouldn't have to search the entire house."

"We could only do that, but it takes energy from both parties to make the connection. If we can find him without having to do a séance it would save us both the energy, so it would be better to seek him out even if it does take up more time."

"Oh…Then I hope he's in the house so you won't have to rest later."

"Umm…thanks? You're being very uncharacteristically thoughtful today, Alfred"

Alfred turned and looked out of the passenger side window of the car at the scenery that passed by.

"Well, you know. I just don't want you to get hurt or something. You're the only thing that's keeping the bad spirit away from hurting me."

After his little comment, the car fell into a silence, neither person wanting to talk, not because of what Alfred had said but more because of what he had brought up. The other spirit, the one that actually wanted to kill them both, weighed heavily on their minds and they both realized that as of now, they had no plan to somehow dispose of it.

The two finally pulled into the driveway of the pre Victorian house and in the process, they managed to break the uncomfortable silence. As the two exited the car, Alfred went to open the door, while Arthur closely followed him. The two walked in and as they passed the dining room, Arthur deviated from their little couple and placed a pad of paper and a pen onto the table. Alfred soon joined him, Kumajirou in hand (where he had found the bear, Arthur didn't know), and took his cousin's arm, instructing him as he did so.

"Come on. Let's go look for Matthew." Alfred suggested as he eyed the pen and notepad carefully.

The two cousins went through every nook and cranny of the house, calling the little boy's name and carrying around Kumajirou with them, hoping that the bear would attract the boy somehow. They were, however, sorely disappointed to find that the small soul was nowhere to be found. They soon found themselves back in the dining room, on the floor and a pad of paper between the two of them, making a small two man séance. Arthur had taken the liberty to take some candles he had found and set them up around them. He lit them and had dimmed most of the lights as well.

Alfred looked around the darkened, candle lit room. Nervously he asked, "Arthur, are you sure about this?"

"It will be fine Alfred. Don't worry too much. I have done this before and besides, Matthew isn't malevolent. He's just a sweet little boy, unable to pass into the afterlife. He has no reason to hurt you or me."

Arthur took Alfred's hand and grasped it tightly in his own. He looked at Alfred and maintained eye contact with him as he spoke.

"Alright, looks like we're ready to start this. Just keep your cool and don't say anything. Oh and if you see the pen start to move, don't freak out. You might scare Matthew, although, I think he likes you so maybe not. Just don't do anything rash and we'll all be fine."

The two men closed their eyes and Arthur started the séance while Alfred listened to his voice. He heard his cousin say a few words in a language that he had no understanding of as well as Matthew's name and before long, Arthur asked him to open his eyes. Alfred did so and he watched in amazement as the pen they had placed besides the paper was picked up.

Alfred observed as it danced across the paper as it spelled out a message for the both of them.

_Hello Alfred, Arthur. I'm assuming that you want to talk to me?_

Once the question was finished, the pen stood there, on its own, waiting for the question to be asked.

"Yes we have a few things we want to clarify with you Matthew." Arthur spoke so that Alfred wouldn't freak out or ask the wrong things. "You were murdered, correct? Because according to the papers and books we found at the library, they stated that you just disappeared one day. People believed that you had run away."

The pen then started to scribble on the paper.

_I would have never run away from my mother! She was the only one I had! No one else loved me as much as she did. Why would I throw that away? I was murdered and by one of our permanent tenants too. He didn't really like me all too much. He thought I was a nuisance and that I tied my mother down._

"Really? How did you exactly tie her down, according to him at least?"

_He thought that since I existed, she would always be reminded of my father, even though he had passed on. He, my murderer, believed that I was the one who caused her to reject him when he told her that he loved her. He blamed me for his rejection and because of that he tried to hurt me whenever he could._

"Didn't your mother realize that this person was hurting you?"

_Sometimes, but only when he hit me on the face or other parts that showed like my arms. Normally, when he would hit me, it would be on the chest or back since no one could see it. He also only hit me when Mother wasn't there in the house._

"Can you tell Alfred and me who this person is?"

_Yes, it's Ge-_

All of a sudden the pen froze, mid word, and fell to the floor. Afraid for the little boy Arthur called out, looking at the paper that rested between him and Alfred.

"Matthew! Matthew are you still there?"

Suddenly, the pen shot up and scribbled heavily onto the paper.

_** THE BOY IS MINE!**_

"Arthur?" Alfred asked, fear evident in his tone.

"Not now Alfred, I'm trying to regain contact with Matthew." Arthur continued to look at the paper. What was this message? Where was Matthew?

"Arthur?" Alfred's voice was softer and feebler than the first time he had called out to him.

"What! What is it Alfred!"

He looked up from the paper only to see Alfred, floating a few good inches in the air, hands grabbing at the cold ones around his neck. He tried kicking at whatever was holding him up but was unable to connect with anything. All the while, General Winter stood there, eyes glaring at Arthur as the cold he emitted began to whip around the room, making his presence known.

"Can I freak out now?"

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**Yes, a cliffhanger, but don't worry, I'll probably have a new chapter up by Sunday. Oh, BTW, I have never been to a seance, seen once, etc so my description may be off. If it could be made better, (or anything as a matter of fact) please send me some advice via review or something that way I can make the story better! :D**

**Anyway please review!  
**


	5. I Never Knew Clouds Could be Evil

This Old House Chapter 5

**I know that I promised you guys that I would post this up no later than Sunday but I totally for got to do it D: At least I had it written by then right? OK I'll stop with the excuses. Oh, before I forget, I got a question about pairings in this story and unfortunately, there are none. So...yeah...enjoy this chapter!**

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Arthur could only stand and gape as his younger cousin dangled helplessly in front of him, gripped by the neck by a specter he, Alfred, couldn't even see.

"A-Arthur! H-Help me!" Alfred gasped as the invisible hand around his throat tightened with each word.

Hearing his cousin's cry for help, Arthur snapped out of his fear induced shock. Thinking fast, he remembered the paper talisman that was given to him as a gift from a priest he had met in China. Acting fast, he pulled out his wallet and pulled out the bill shaped piece of paper.

"I knew it was a good idea to place this in my wallet." He told himself as he gripped the paper in his hand and looked back at his cousin.

By now, Alfred was slowing in his struggles due to the lack of oxygen reaching his lungs. Arthur, already deciding his course of action, rapidly ran to the monster that was attempting to strangle his cousin, ready to ward the demon off. Reaching out his arm, he managed to strike the general in the head, quickly placing the talisman on his forehead.

Suddenly, the ghost let out a pain filled screech and dropped Alfred onto the floor. As Alfred gasped for air, Arthur ran towards him and once he was at his side, he hugged Alfred, letting out his hidden fear in the action.

"Alfred! Are you alright?" He spoke as he scanned his cousin's face looking for hidden injuries.

Alfred waved the searching hands away from his face, coughing as he replied to the question asked. "I'm _cough _I'm fine. What was that thing you placed on him?"

The two watched as the phantom in front of them writhed in pain and let out horrible screeches of sound. All of a sudden, the general disappeared in a poof of smoke but not before sending a look of pure hate and vengefulness in Arthur's way. Once the phantom was gone, Arthur glanced back at his relative to answer the question he had asked.

"That was a paper talisman. It's supposed to ward off evil spirits but it looks like the general is too evil for it to handle. But apparently, the talisman causes damage to the stronger spirits that it can't ward off."

"Did it get rid of him permanently?"

"I highly doubt it. That General is a very strong spirit, most likely powered by his extreme hate for Matthew. It'll take more than that fragile talisman to send him to the afterlife."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, both thinking of the same question. How _were _they supposed to get rid of General Winter? Neither of them had an answer and the problem hung over them like an ominous cloud, spelling dread for their future actions. Suddenly, from the corner, Alfred heard a sound.

"Oh…Hey Arthur, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That sound. It sounds like something being scraped."

The two went silent as a soft scratching sound was heard. Confused, the two looked around for the source of the noise and discovered that the pen they were using, before the freak encounter with General Winter, was moving across a scrap of the paper from earlier. The two quickly got up from the floor and moved towards the pen and paper, which was no longer located in the middle of the floor but in a corner of the room. They looked down at the paper and observed as the pen stopped moving and dropped to the floor. Alfred bent down and picked up the scrap, revealing it to be a message from Matthew.

_Please take refuge in my room, it's the only place he cannot access so you will be safe from him. Please hurry, he will not be incapacitated for long. You probably want to rest too, it's been a long day._

_P.S. I'm sure you want me to tell you more about the past as well._

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea…Come on Arthur, I've had enough spiritual exposure for one day. It's already what, ten o' clock. I'm tired. Maybe Matthew will let us sleep on his bed."

Alfred folded up the letter and carefully walked to the stairs. Once there, he groped around for the light switch, wanting to get rid of the horrible darkness that covered the room and covered any trace of the malevolent missing ghost. Finally finding the switch, Alfred flipped it on, only to hear a disgruntling fizzing sound as the lights short circuited and plunged the house into darkness. He let out a loud groan and looked around for his cousin, calling out his name.

"Arthur! Arthur where are you?"

Suddenly, a cold hand fell upon his shoulder and Alfred felt a shiver run down his spine as he held back the scream that lodged itself in the back of his throat. "No!" He thought, "The general can't be back already!"

"It's just me." His cousin whispered quietly. "No need to worry."

Alfred hesitantly looked in the direction of the voice but was disappointed that he could not find Arthur's face or body. He then decided to reach out with his hands and succeeded in grabbing his relative's clothes.

"Arthur, we need to get to Matthew's room so be careful as you climb up the steps. Hold onto my jacket so we won't get separated." He paused and waited for Arthur to get a grip on his jacket.

"Alright, I have a hold on it."

The two began their slow climb up the long staircase. They carefully went step by step, making sure that neither of them missed on and fell. When they were halfway up the seemingly endless flight of steps, Alfred began to feel a chill run over his body.

"Do you feel that Arthur? It's getting colder."

"What do you mean, it's getting colder? I don't feel anything."

"You don't feel it? There's a cold breeze coming up from the bo-"

When Alfred had turned his head to attempt to look down at his cousin, he saw it. A bright blue floating cloud had emerged from the hallway that led to the kitchen and had started to move towards them. As it got closer, the air became colder and colder until the mysterious thing was at the bottom of the stairs.

"What's the matter with y-"

Arthur froze mid sentence when he realized that he could see Alfred's horrified face. He turned around and his eyes got wider as he observed the blue cloud rushing towards them.

"Run!" He yelled as he and Alfred scrambled to the top of the stairs, stumbling a little, as the blue light emitted from the wicked cloud ironically lit their way.

As the two made it to the top of the stairs, they stopped to catch their breath, only to realize their mistake as the object continued to rapidly climb the stairs. The cousins watched in horror as the mysterious thing began to take form, morphing into its true shape, as it made its way up to them.

The cousins slowly backed away from the stairs as the blue light and cold wind emitted from the form began to engulf them. As General Winter reached the top of the stairs, they quickly dashed away in the direction of Matthew's room, hearing the heavy boots thump upon the wooden floor as the general chased them. When they had reached the room, Alfred throwing open the door and Arthur the one to close it just as a cold, icy hand whipped out to grab him, they collapsed on the floor of the room, hearing the specter outside howl in rage at the fact that he could not exact his revenge on the fuzzy eye browed man who had caused him so much pain earlier.

The room was not as dark as the rest of the house due to the light of the moon that shone through the window. It illuminated the room and gave it a soft glow, slightly calming the two men down.

Once the two had settled down a bit, relief washed over them as they become conscious of the fact that they had reached the sanctuary and that the blue light that had shone under the door had disappeared. Even though they had made it however, Alfred discovered that his cousin had started to violently shake where he sat on the floor, arms wrapped around his drawn up knees. He carefully walked over to Arthur and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, feeling the shaking slow a little.

"What's wrong?" He questioned. "We reached the bedroom and General Winter can't get us in here. Matthew said we were safe from harm so there's no need to be afraid."

"You didn't see his eyes Alfred. They were so filled with resentment and hate. I can't imagine what he would do to us if he actually caught us before we got here. I can't begin to see what horrors Matthew had to face when he was living with that evil man."

As Alfred was comforting his companion, he began to notice that the room no longer felt…empty or as empty as before. He realized that something must be in the room, other than himself and Arthur of course. He looked around and noticed a darkened indentation on the comforter on the bed. Slowly, he got up, attracting Arthur's attention in the process, and walked over to the indentation. As he walked, he felt himself becoming more and more relaxed, even more so than when he had first entered the room. Suddenly, a warm orange-yellow cloud manifested itself at the location of the dimple in the bed and slowly, it took the shape of the boy he knew as Matthew.

Matthew looked up at Alfred's confused face and smiled at him, a smile that was warm and not at all threatening. The boy radiated kindness and love, unlike the other form infesting the house that oozed hate and vengeance. The other gasped at the action and fell backwards onto the floor, startled that he could actually see the boy.

"Alfred!" He heard Arthur scramble over towards him as he rubbed the back of his head where it had hit it on the floor. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," He replied as he watched Matthew giggle at his fall. "What are you laughing at?"

His cousin gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not laughing, Alfred."

"No not you! Matthew!" He pointed to the spot on the bed and Arthur looked. The young boy on the bed gave a small wave and a half smile. Arthur gave a nod of acknowledgement and smiled back. The little boy floated over to the two and began to speak.

"You two are probably really tired. It's almost eleven and you've been up all day. You can sleep on the bed if you want, I don't mind. Tomorrow we can talk, but right now you need rest."

"Oh, thank you!" Alfred exclaimed as he practically jumped into the soft, plush bed, his former pain now forgotten. Once again, he heard Matthew give a soft giggle, as he snuggled into the pillow and sheets. Alfred felt the large bed dip a little as his cousin climbed in on the other side. The two were soon fast asleep, briefly forgetting about the wickedness that infested itself in the outside of the room.

Matthew gave a loving smile at the two sleeping forms and floated to the window. Grabbing the curtains on either side, he turned his head and looked back at the two.

"Good night," he whispered and pulled the curtains closed, plunging the room into a calm and peaceful darkness.

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**I'm sorry that this chapter was mostly a filler but, I will say that the next one will be better! I don't really have much to say today...**

**Please review! :D  
**


	6. A Not So Average Morning

This Old House Chapter 6

**Yay! Double update since I felt bad for not uploading a chapter in so long. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to leave you with a filler :D.**

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When Alfred felt the warmth on his face, he knew that it was daytime. Opening one eye, he found himself to be facing the window of the small room, which of course was the source of the light that had woken him. He then closed his eye, taking in the serenity of the silence and peacefulness that was given to him and sun that shone through the slightly open window. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, the door suddenly slammed against the wall, disturbing his tranquil state of mind.

Soon enough, he heard the clinking of glass and the clatter of metal being set down on the floor and Alfred's curiosity to see what his cousin was up to was enough to fully sweep the sleep from his body. He reached out his hand and groped around the side of the bed on to one of the bedside tables, successfully finding his glasses. He placed them on his face and sat up, stretching his arms and feeling satisfactory as he heard his joints give out a succession of popping sounds. Looking over to where Arthur was, Alfred noticed that his cousin had brought the boxes of cereal that he had stored in the kitchen cabinets when he had first moved into the house.

When he was done with setting up their makeshift breakfast, Arthur turned to look at Alfred giving him a rare smile, if that half grin thing could be called a smile in the first place…

"Good, you're up. I was hoping that you'd wake up on your own. The last time I tried to do that you nearly knocked out my front teeth."

Alfred climbed out of the bed, and briskly walked over, lured by the idea of food, especially the sugary breakfast cereals that Arthur had so effectively brought upstairs. As he grabbed a bowl and started to pour himself some Cocoa Puffs, he observed that some of the spheres never touched the bowl.

"What the hell?"

Instead of falling like they should have, Alfred watched as brown puffs were grabbed and moved against the force of gravity until they disappeared, as if being consumed by a microscopic black hole. Although he realized that it had to be Matthew eating his Cocoa Puffs, in reality, Alfred was a little freaked out, even though it was the kind boy that couldn't frighten anyone. It wasn't every day that Cocoa Puffs floated around and were consumed by spirits of the deceased.

"Alfred! Stop! You're spilling cereal all over the floor! What's the matter with you?"

Alfred broke out of his daze and noticed that his cousin was furious, his eyebrows knitted into an angry look on his face. Looking down, Alfred noticed the mountain of round, chocolaty globes pilling in his bowl, some falling from the chocolaty mountain to cover the floor. He grinned sheepishly and reached for the milk, not bothering to pick up the fallen pieces of cereal.

"It's nothing Arthur. I just got distracted. I mean when do you actually see ghosts eating cereal? I didn't even know they could eat in the first place."

Arthur sighed. His cousin could get so sidetracked by trivial things. He guessed that he could let it slide this time.

"Yes, well on occasion they can eat or drink whatever and whenever they feel. Isn't that right Matthew?"

Alfred watched as the little boy materialized next to the Lucky Charms and nodded, all the while sticking his small hand into the box and pulling out a handful of the sugary breakfast food.

"Matthew," Arthur, suddenly serious, said as he turned his attention to the ghost child, "Would you mind telling us how you ended up, uh, you know, the way you are?"

"You mean dead?" Alfred noticed the tiny tint of sadness hidden within the adolescent's voice.

"To put it bluntly I guess then, yes. It would help us figure out how to get you to move on, as well as shed some light on how to get Mr. Moody General downstairs out of the house." Arthur looked at the ghost child and noticed that he was staring at the cereal box in his hands, a sad and distant look gracing his young face.

"Matthew, lad, are you alright?"

"Wha-?" Matthew looked up from the cereal box he was holding. When had he started zoning out? "What were we talking about?"

"I was just saying how if you tell us how you died, it will help us aid you and dispel the General's soul from the house."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, it's just, I want to tell you everything but it-it's so hard. It h-hurts so much." The boy hiccupped, large tears starting to well up in his eyes. "E-every time I th-think about how I died, I relive everything, what he did to me and the pain. I-I just don't want to feel hurt again." Matthew sobbed, ghostly tears streaking down his face.

Seeing the boy cry and in pain, Alfred, always one to be somebody's hero, wrapped an arm as best he could around the weeping child as Arthur got up to find his bear.

"Shhh, Matthew. Nobody can hurt you now 'cuz me an' Arthur are here to help you." Despite his words, the child continued to cry and Alfred started to feel uncomfortable. He never really had to deal with something like this before. The most he had to do was flash a smile, give some comforting words, and the person would cheer up. Noticing that Arthur had Matthew's soft bear, he tried once again to make the child a little bit less distraught.

"Here! Look Matthew, it's your bear. You want your bear right?" The child nodded his head and took Kumajirou from Arthur's offering hands.

"Think about it this way Matthew." Arthur spoke. "If you tell us about what happened and we're able to help you, you'll be able to see your family again. Your mom and dad, they probably miss you and I know you miss them too. You want that right?"

"I-I'll be able to see them again?" His soft voice barely a whisper.

"Yep. I'm sure they're waiting for you. You'll be able to be a family again, after all these years."

"Momma…I miss her so much. I-I've been so lonely. It's been two hundred years…"

"All the more reason to tell us Matthew. I know it will hurt to relive everything but in the long run, you'll be free and you'll be able to see your family again. And don't worry; you have myself and Alfred here to comfort you."

"Yeah! I'll be your hero and protect you!"

Matthew wiped the remaining tears from his face and gave a small smile at Alfred's lightening words.

"Ok, you can be my hero, Alfred." He took a breath. "A-all right. I…I think I can do this."

"We got your back Matthew and just take your time. We're not going anywhere, so go at your own pace."

"Ok. I'm ready…"


	7. How It All Went Down

This Old House Chapter 7

**This is a ** **flashback in case you're wondering. As a warning, there is abuse and murder in the chapter. Just remember, Matthew had to turn into a ghost somehow...**

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_Sunlight glittered through the open window and cast its shining rays upon the sleeping figure of a boy snuggled beneath the warm covers of his bed; a white bear grasped tightly in is arms. A quick glance of his room revealed that it was mostly barren, though a desk, a set of drawers, and a table by the window were all located in the light beige room. The boy began to stir, awakened by the light of the sun casting its glow upon him._

_When Matthew became aware that he was no longer sleeping, he refused to open his eyes, settling more on looking at the back of his eyelids than at his surroundings. Finally, after a good five more minutes, he slowly opened his eyes, revealing a stunning purple shade of iris. He sat up and yawned, stretching his body a little. He then picked up his bear from where it had fallen off the bed when he awakened and brushed it off._

_"Good morning Kumajirou." He said to the plush, voice barely a whisper._

_After placing his bear neatly onto his bed, Matthew changed and prepared for the day ahead. Once he was ready, he made his way to the rest of his family's inn, walking down the private corridor that led from his mother's room and his own, to where everything else in the large house was located. When he reached the kitchen and opened the large doors, he was met with the warming smell of fresh breakfast food. His widowed mother, Mary Williams, was busy working at the stove, large plates filled with heaping amounts of various morning foods were already surrounding her._

_Matthew made his way over to her, careful not to bump into or knock over the already prepared food._

_"Good morning Mother."_

_At the sound of her son's voice, Mary turned and looked at Matthew, giving him a warm smile. This was one of the only opportunities that she had to see her son besides dinner. Usually, she was so busy preparing the inn for guests that she had no extra time for her son. Things like cleaning and going out to buy more food or items always came first since she needed to make money for her remaining family by making sure her guests were comfortable._

_"Good morning Matthew. I see you're ready for today."_

_The boy nodded his head and moved closer to his mother, enough so that he could give her a nice, loving hug._

_"I'm sure you're already hungry right? If you go over to the counter, I made you a plate of pancakes. The syrup and butter are right there as well. Oh and Matthew, before you start, could you help put out the trays? The guest will be coming down soon and they'll probably want something to eat before they leave."_

_Letting go of his mother, Matthew silently went over and picked up a tray of freshly scrambled eggs. He exited the kitchen and made his way to the common dining room area where an empty buffet table was already set up. He placed the eggs down and returned to the kitchen for the other trays. Slowly, he managed to get out all of the food just as guests were making their way down the stairs. Once he was finished with his task, Matthew returned to the kitchen and found his now semi cold pancakes. He was, to say, a little disappointed that his yummy breakfast was now cold, but in his mind, helping his overworked mother was more important than what he wanted, even if what he wanted was a warm breakfast._

_After quickly finishing his meal, Matthew placed his dishes in the sink and helped his mother wash the dirty pots and pans. Together they managed to clean everything in little over ten minutes._

_"Thank you Matthew." She smiled at her son and patted his head. The two sat together at the table, enjoying each other's company before they had to get back to work._

_"Matthew, could you replace all of the sheets today for me?"_

_The boy eagerly nodded his head, always wanting to make his mother's work load a little lighter._

"_Alright! Then you can place all of the dirty ones in the bin outback so I can wash them tomorrow. Oh and around eleven, I'm going into town to buy some more vegetables and other some furniture that will be delivered tomorrow, so I won't be around. And just before I forget, the General is going to be fixing the hole in the wall of the third guest room so you won't have to go in there…I guess that's everything…I hope that you'll have a wonderful day Matthew."_

_"I will Mother. I hope that your trip goes well." He gave her a hug and went to exit the kitchen, but before he was able to leave, he unexpectedly ran into someone entering the same room he was leaving, successfully falling onto his butt. Looking up from where he had fallen down, Matthew locked eyes with cold, unforgiving blue ones. Before the other man could make a grab at him, the boy quickly sprung up from where he was and ran to the upper floor where the guest rooms were located, wanting to expel the image of the angry General that he had just had the horrible pleasure of meeting so early in the morning._

_General Winter was a cross and unforgiving man, who believed that he should have whatever he wanted, due to the fact that he was once a high ranking military official in his native home and thus got whatever he pleased. Back in his old country, whatever he asked for, whether it was logical or illogical, he would get it. From gold plated utensils to diamond rings as well as the most beautiful women, he would somehow obtain it. However, that was then and this is now, and he had left his old country when the old militaristic government was overthrown. He now lived in squalor in a tiny eastern town that people were slowly leaving in their quest for a new beginning out west and no longer could he get what he wanted. However, his now impoverished state didn't stop him from feeling that he owned whatever laid his fancy._

_From the instance he had first laid his eyes on Mrs. Mary Williams as she shopped in the town market, he knew that he loved her and that he wanted her for his own. He would do anything to make her his and when she had posted an ad in the paper asking for a handy man who wouldn't mind living in the inn and instead of pay there was a free room and food, he knew that this was his chance to act upon his ever growing crush. He wasted no time and applied for it before anyone could. _

_When he had first arrived at the lovely inn on the outskirts of town, he almost failed the interview she gave, for he had almost no experience working with fixing things, he was a general who made others do the dirty work, and he had gotten so distracted as he stared at her lovely face that he was unable to answer her questions correctly. However, he did know English quite well and when he was able to answer a question, he would form his answer so elegantly that it would give him some points at least. Nonetheless, the General was an intelligent man and when Mary presented him with one of her many household problems that required immediate fixing, he would take a look at it and solve it for her in no time._

_In the end, both parties were happy, Mary had obtained the handy man she wanted and he had the chance to be around the one he thought he had fallen in love with. Their shared happiness lasted for a good five minutes, and then she did the unthinkable, she introduced her son, Matthew to him. The General, upon seeing this boy he now hated, as he knew that he would have to fight the boy for Mary's love, knew that the child had thrown a wrench into his plans of getting Mary to be his. He so desperately wanted to find a way to dispose of the child, but being as patient as he could be, he decided not to harm the boy and was content enough that he ignored the quiet youth._

_Even with the introduction of the boy, General Winter was still willing to pursue Mary, though he knew that her mind would only be in the benefit of the child. He would ask her for dates and occasions and every time she would refuse him, saying that she was true to her first and only husband. He would tell her "But he is gone! You must move on in life!" and she would reply "No! He does live on! In the very embodiment of my son!" and his hatred for little Matthew would grow._

_After his third year of failed attempts and heart break (they were currently on their fifth year together), General Winter's tolerance for Matthew reached its end. Knowing full well that the boy was on his own most of the time, as his mother would be too busy taking care of the inn, the General would kick him on his smaller chest, punch him, and cause him other bodily harms. Never did he hurt the child where someone else could easily see the bruises, he didn't want to lose his job or get thrown into jail. With every ounce of pain he delivered to the boy, a little of his disappeared, but unknowingly to him it was only a temporary fix…_

_By now the time was ten fifty five, almost time for his mother to be leaving for town, and Matthew had finished changing all of the sheets, a large pile of soiled linens at the base of the stairs was proof of his work. As he took the linens from his last room, he heard the sound of the doors to the kitchen swing open, and loud voices from inside. He quickly ran to the side of the stair rail and looked down so that he could see the front entry way and the door. His mother appeared and he could tell she was upset. Wanting her to feel somewhat better, Matthew called out to her._

"_Bye Mother! I hope you find what you're looking for!"_

_When she glanced back to him, he gave a wave, causing her to wave back and greatly lighten her mood. She left the closed inn feeling the happiest she ever would be. _

_Unbeknownst to the family, General Winter had pried in on their moment together. As he watched, the feeling of jealousy and envy for the joy that Matthew brought to his mother was too much to bear for man as he left the two to go back into the kitchen to drink the liquor he had discovered in a cabinet, the thought of what he was supposed to be doing completely slipping his mind._

_After wishing his mother a good time, Matthew ran down the stairs to his large pile of sheets. Gathering as much as he could, he made his way outside to the large metal bin positioned by the rows of clothesline. He tossed his load of linens into the bin and returned inside for the rest. Once he was completely through with his job, Matthew decided to take a walk down the empty trail near the inn, wanting to get away from the house and General Winter for as long as he could._

_As he walked, he discovered a small stream with large shady willows along the bank. Being as tired as he was, from the sun and hard work he had performed, he quickly fell asleep under the shade of one of the trees. When he had woken sometime later, he was somewhat alarmed to discover that the sun was already past the noon point and was heading back down. Inwardly, Matthew started to panic._

"_Mother must be waiting! I have to hurry back home before she starts to worry!"_

_However, he remembered that his mother had traveled to town earlier that morning and would not be home for what he guessed was a few more hours. Matthew visibly relaxed and started his walk back home, at his own pace and with the sound of the stream still playing in his head._

_The brook, he concluded, was peaceful and safe and could be used as a place of enjoyment. He decided, as he walked home, that the next time he and his mother had free time, he would take her there so that she too could relax and get away from the busy life she led._

"_Yes" he thought, "what a perfect idea." And with that he continued his walk home, a smile on his face and blissful thoughts in his head._

_When Matthew arrived home he heard no noise, besides the grandfather clock in the door way that read four p.m., as he walked in through the door. He took a quick look around and as quietly and carefully as he could, he made his way to his room where he knew he would be safe from General Winter's wrathful fists._

_When the General came to his senses he realized two things. One, it was around three in the afternoon and two, that his raid and full consumption of four out of the five bottles of whiskey he found in the cabinet did nothing to sooth his heartbreak and anger caused by the latest refusal by his love. As he sat on the floor, surrounded by the empty bottles, and wallowed in his sorrow, a plan slowly began to appear through his alcohol fogged brain._

"_That stupid boy!" He thought, "If only he never existed! Then she would have nothing to hold her back from loving me. Why must he be here to remind her of the deceased? If only he never existed!"_

_He took a swig of the almost empty fifth and last whiskey bottle he held in his hands. _

"_If I could only get rid of him!" He continued to brood. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "That's it! I'll get rid of the boy! It's perfect! No more hearing 'Matthew this' and 'Matthew that.' He'll be gone!"_

_He let out a drunken laugh._

"_But wait! Where is he? I haven't seen him all day? No! I must find him! This is the only time his mother will be away from the house! It's my only chance!"_

_The man, as quickly and coordinately as his drunken state would allow, stood and made his way to Matthew's bedroom. He knew that if the boy was home, he would hide out in his room, away from him. The General drunkenly climbed the stairs, tripping over many of them but he was careful enough not to actually fall flat on his face. When he reached the door, he turned the handle, finding it to be unlocked, which was unusual since the boy would do anything to separate himself from the General._

"_Perhaps," rang the voice inside the foggy head, "he is not here but outside."_

_His suspicion was confirmed when the door opened revealing a barren, childless room._

"_Good, that means that I can hide." And so he did in a pathetic attempt to conceal himself from the boy who would soon be home, finding a spot hidden in a corner away from the door. _

_It took around forty minutes for him to hear the patter of someone's feet ascending the wooden stairs and the General, still with an alcohol induced fog in his mind, waited patiently, like the snake before it strikes its prey, for the boy to come in and close his door._

_Matthew quickly ran up the stairs, happy that he couldn't hear the sound of another person in the house._

"_Maybe he went out a bar…" he thought happily. "Then he won't be around for a long time, enough for Momma to get home before he does!" _

_He reached his room and opened the door, too lost in his happy thoughts to realize the stench of whiskey in his room or the suspicious man in the shadows of the corner of the room. Matthew closed his door and was about to turn and jump on to his bed when a hand slapped itself upon his mouth and another snaked it's way around his neck. As he struggled to free himself, he felt his body be dragged over to where his bed was located. He cried out as he was thrown harshly down onto the comforter. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the angry face of General Winter, and the strong stench of whiskey surrounded him._

"_You're drunk." He managed to rasp out as the man above him gave a vicious smile._

_Suddenly, one of the General's large hands wrapped itself around his neck again and Matthew felt a powerful squeeze that threatened to crush his windpipe. He began to struggle, kicking with his legs and flailing his arms, successfully getting his attacker to momentarily release his grip, only to have the larger male sit on his chest and grab both of his arms in one of his larger hands, while the other reached for a pillow that lined the bed._

_Snatching the pillow, the General shoved it over Matthew's face, effectively smothering him. The combination of struggling and lack of air soon took its toll on the young boy's body as well as the General's heavy body crushing his torso. His resistance began to fade and after a bit, his movements ceased completely. The General released his iron grip on the boy's hands and removed the pillow covering his face. He then slowly rose from where he sat on top of Matthew's upper body and checked the boy's pulse on cooling arm. Nothing. The boy was dead._

_Grinning like a madman, General Winter grabbed the body and carried it to the third guest room. There, in that specific room, was a hole in the brick wall. He reasoned that it would be the perfect place to hide the body where no one would find it, after all, he was supposed to lay new bricks to fix the hole in the first place. He just never got around to doing it today, that is, until now._

_Throwing the body into the empty wall cavity behind the hole, the General ran back downstairs and into the backyard where he proceeded to mix a concrete solution that was used to hold the bricks in place in a bucket. Once he was through with that, he returned to the room with the wet concrete and finished the job he was supposed to be doing. Slowly, the hole in the wall disappeared and with it, the body of a child, never to be seen for another two hundred years. _

_In total it took General Winter two hours to play out his plan, an hour and fifty five minutes to hide the body and five long, painful minutes to kill Matthew Williams._


	8. With that He is set Free

This Old House Ch. 8

**It's finally done! I thought this would take forever! Well, I hope you enjoyed this story as this is the final instalment.**

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The room was silent. Neither Alfred nor Arthur had anything to say after Matthew finished his tragic tale. The two mortals were appalled. How could anyone kill such an innocent child, none the less a child like Matthew, a child filled with only love and compassion? How could they find enough hate to do such a thing?

All of a sudden, Alfred stood up from his spot on the ground, effectively startling both his cousin and the ghostly child. He stomped to the door, feet heavy and filled with anger towards the one who was the source of Matthew's imprisonment.

"Where do you think you're going?" Arthur called out as the other reached for the door knob.

"I'm going to find him Arthur. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Matthew. I'm-"

"You're not going to do anything!" Arthur was now scrambling to Alfred's side. "You can't just rush into something like this. He has the upper hand! You're just a human and he's a powerful spirit capable of not only causing you bodily harm but also of taking your life. It won't do us any good if you're dead, Alfred. We'll think of something together, just be patient."

Alfred stood there, in front of the door and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He turned and looked at Arthur, who was still standing beside him and then to Matthew, who was now sitting on the bed, eyes pleading for him not to go and be brash.

"Fine. But we better think of something. I want him gone so that Matthew can be free and so the house can be a normal home."

"Alright. Come, let's go hatch a plan." Arthur gently grabbed Alfred's shoulder, leading him away from the door.

The two sat back upon the floor and pushed aside their dirty, empty bowls and the cereal boxes to make more space for themselves. For the next three hours they tossed around ideas, some utterly stupid (thanks to Alfred) and a few that could work but they were unsure of how it would play out if they were to attempt them. It wasn't until the fourth hour that something actually happened.

"I've got it!" Arthur yelled, uncharacteristically of him. "Why didn't I think of this before?" He rapidly got up from the floor, sprinting to the door.

"What? What is it Arthur?" Alfred followed his cousin to the exit as the other ran quickly down the stairs and into the foyer.

"Arthur! Slow down! I can't keep up with you!"

Alfred trailed his cousin out into the front yard to the driveway where they had parked the car the other day after their trip to the library. Once at the vehicle, he continued to watch from the porch, as Arthur dug around the inside of the car, intent on finding something.

"Do you need any help Arthur?" He asked as he made his way to the car, more curious about what the other was trying to find than on actually helping him.

"No, I don't need any help. And besides, I know what you're up to. The last thing I want is for you to touch something and somehow unleash a powerful spell or something like that. Just go sit somewhere. It won't take me that much longer to find it."

With a pout on his disappointed face, Alfred sat upon the grass near the other side of the car. He began to poke and prod at the grassy earth for a good five minutes until a strange, odd smell filled his nose. He sniffed around, trying to figure out where the malodorous smell came from. He followed it to the side of car, close to where he sat. He took a knee and looked under the vehicle, half expecting to not see anything. To his own surprise, he had found the source of the intense fumes.

Alfred watched as gas dripped out from a broken hose somewhere and was amazed as it formed a semi large puddle underneath the car. The fumes radiating from the pool were so intense, he had to clamp a hand over his nose to keep the toxic vapors from entering his lungs. How could Arthur not smell the gas?

He straightened back up from his kneeling position and made his way back to the other side of the car, hand still clamped over his nose as he could still smell the odor. He found Arthur rather quickly, since he was now digging through the glove compartment of the front passenger side seat.

"Arthur" He rasped as he poked his cousin on the back with his free hand as the other was now covering his nose and his mouth. The stench was becoming overpowering to the point where Alfred felt like he was going to pass out. No response.

"Arthur!" He poked a little harder, hoping that the other would get the hint and respond. Nothing.

"Arthur!" He poked the other as hard as he could.

"OW! WHAT?" Was the angry and frustrated reply, as the now angry blonde whipped around to glare at his cousin.

"You have…a gas leak…in your car. Can't…you smell it?" He rasped as he tried to get unpolluted air into his lungs.

"What are you talking about Alfred? I can't smell anything. And take your hand off your face. You look like an idiot."

"But Arthur, it's…it's leaking everywhere. There's a huge puddle…under your car!"

"Look Alfred." The other turned and looked at him over his shoulder. "If you're going to bother me, I won't be able to find what I'm looking for. If you want to talk to someone go talk to Matthew. I'm sure he'd love to hear some of the things you say."

"But! But Ar-"

"What did I say?"

With a sigh, Alfred shut his mouth and made his way to the front door. He had seen the puddle and still smelled the fumes. Why didn't Arthur? Alfred ran back to the car and fell to his knees so that he could see the underneath, his hand still clamped tightly over half mouth and nose. Sure enough, there was the puddle, almost the size of a small lake now. As he stared at it, trying to figure out what was causing it, a small flash of light caught his eye.

Looking a little to his right, Alfred spotted a small flame, floating in the air quite close to the edge of the lake of gas. Alfred felt his eyes widen as the small flame grew bigger, to about the size of a baseball. Realizing what it was going to do, Alfred shot up and grabbed his cousin by the waist, never hearing the explicit things coming from the other's mouth. He threw him over his shoulder and ran to the covered and protected front porch. Just as he made it around the corner to the door a loud explosion was heard, the house shaking on its foundations as the hot air from the fiery blast blew by in every direction.

"What the hell was that all about?" Arthur shouted out in anger at his cousin as he looked around the corner towards his car.

"My car! What happened to my car?"

Alfred, curious to see what was left also peeked around the corner, discovering that all that was left of the once proud vehicle was a now flaming pile of twisted metal. His house wasn't too badly scarred from the explosion, though. The walls were charred and the driveway would have to be repaved but it wasn't like there was a big hole in the entire front like he expected.

Remembering that the car was still on fire, Alfred grabbed the hose that was conveniently located on the porch and turned it on. Staying a good distance away from the car, he began to hose it down, burning steam flying all around him but somehow it didn't burn his flesh. Slowly the flames began to die, leaving nothing but a smoldering mass of blackened metal and debris.

When Alfred returned to the porch, he discovered that his companion was no longer there. He entered the house, only to find Arthur with Matthew, both sitting by the window in the foyer that overlooked the driveway. Matthew turned his head in Alfred's direction once he heard the sounds of steps in the hall.

"I tried to protect the house but I wasn't able to keep the wall or the driveway from being damaged. I also shielded you from the steam so you wouldn't get burned. I'm sorry that I couldn't do more."

Alfred walked over and ruffled up Matthew's golden locks, a bright smile on his face.

"You don't need to apologize, Matthew. You did a great job! The damage that's there is way smaller than what I had expected and you helped me from not getting any serious burns. I'm surprised that you could do something like that! How did you do that anyway?"

"I made a shield to protect you and the house. When you're a sprit, you can control a certain amount of spiritual energy that exists in nature. The energy is invisible to most except those who have certain abilities or gifts. Those people can see or even use the energies in their daily lives."

"Oh, I see! That's pretty cool!"

"Alfred."

The younger of the two mortals turned to the other, smile still on his face.

"Yes Artie?"

"What the HELL just happened! My car! My precious, beautiful car is GONE!" Arthur exclaimed, as he ran up to his younger cousin and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him violently.

As fast as he could, Alfred escaped from Arthur's furious grasp. Dusting himself off, he turned to his fuming kinsman.

"Well you know Arthur, you shouldn't be so angry. I did tell you that there was gas leaking out everywhere but no, you decided to ignore me. I guess if you wanted to place blame, you could say that the General was the one to do it."

"What! That's impossible! His haunting grounds are inside the house. There is no way he could escape the inside of the building!" Arthur threw up his hands in an exacerbated huff, wanting to just right out and punch his American cousin for all of his stupidity.

"Fine! Don't believe me then. But I know it was him who set the fire. I saw it!" Folding his arms across his chest, Alfred turned his back to Arthur.

"Psh! What a load of crap Alfred! I know it was you who set the car on fire!"

"What!" He swiftly turned around, anger strewn across his face. "When did this go on to me being the one to cause the explosion?"

Arthur ran up to Alfred and jabbed his finger at Alfred's chest. "It was your fault from the start!"

"You liar!" He swatted Arthur's accusing finger off his clothes." I saw him! It was that damn general!"

All the while the two family members were arguing, Matthew sat back and watched. He was somewhat fascinated by the interactions between the men, mostly because he had never seen members of the same family fight so fiercely with each other or as often as the two he had become friends with. Deciding that he should speak up before an actual fist fight started he hopped off the bed and coughed a little, waiting for the time he could hop into their "conversation," which happened to be right then.

"You two do know that he can move freely about, don't you?" Matthew's quiet voice interjected stopping the intense and smoldering argument before the actual fistfight that had been building broke out.

"Excuse me?" The two others spoke at the same time before they fell silent for the boy to explain his statement.

"The General isn't tied down to the building as I am. He chose to return here after his death to torment me and claim me as his own property. I'm trapped here because my body is located somewhere in the building, most likely in the third guest room as I can feel myself being drawn to that particular room whenever I pass by. This is the reason why he can move about and I cannot, this house is not his forced burial site. If he chose to, he could follow you home if you were to leave. But I doubt either one of you would, right?"

"Of course Matthew! We won't leave until you're set free!" With that, Alfred flashed one of his bright, hope endearing smiles at the young spirit.

Matthew smiled back and watched as the two family members awkwardly made amends to their earlier bickering (Matthew was amazed at how fast they transitioned to making up with each other. Their fight finished only five minutes before).

"Alfred, I'm…I'm sorry that I called you a liar and blamed you for the accident. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so fast. I should have realized it sooner that you were trying to help and I shouldn't have been so hell bent on finding the crystal."

"It's ok Artie! I forgive ya! By the way, what are you talking about with all that crystal stuff? Is it that thing you were searching for?"

The shorter blond nodded his head. "Yeah, lucky for us, I managed to locate it before you tackled me to the ground. Here, let me get it ou-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Matthew suddenly grabbed Arthur, and Alfred as well, by the ends of their shirts, and started to pull them towards the staircase. Surprised at the strength the smaller boy showed, neither of the two cousins resisted as Matthew managed to drag them to the safety of his room, in record time too. Tossing the mortals into the room as quickly as he could, he shoved the door closed and locked it just a loud thundering shriek sounded from the other side of the wooden door.

"Matthew! What was that all about?" Alfred yelled from the safety of the corner between the window and the bed where he had retreated after hearing the vicious and frightening yell.

"He was watching us from the shadows. I felt him as he moved closer to where we were. I think he wanted to kill you, the both of you. His malicious energy felt stronger than it usually does." The little boy sighed as he flopped onto the bed, pulling Kumajirou close to his chest and buried his face into the warm fur.

Slowly, large, wet and ghostly tears spilled down his face, somehow drenching the bear he held. Arthur and Alfred quickly noticed the little child's misery and together, they made their way towards the ghostly adolescent. Once there by his side, the two surrounded him, one of them on each side offering Matthew as much comfort as they could give to an ethereal child.

"Matthew," Alfred spoke after a while. "What's the matter?"

"I want to go home. I want to see my family. I want to be free! I'm tired of having to run in fear of that wretched man even though I'm dead! I just-I just want to be with my Momma and Poppa again."

More tears leaked from his eyes as he started to cry once more. Both men once again tried to soothe the obviously distressed boy but nothing seemed to cease the ghostly tears leaking from his eyes.

Suddenly, a realization his Arthur. Quickly reaching for his pockets, he pulled out a slender lavender crystal that was tied to a long black cord. It almost looked like a necklace and it shone as sunlight from the window struck it's willowy body.

"Matthew," he shook the boy's see through yet solid shoulder. "Look, I have something here that'll make your wish come true. You'll be able to see your parents again and you'll be free from this house. Please, just look."

Matthew looked up from his bear at Arthur's request, bringing up a small hand to wipe away the few stray tears rolling down his cheeks. He eyed the crystal curiously, wondering how such a thing could dispel, even destroy the wretched demon that forced him to stay rooted to the house. He didn't even have to ask as Alfred did it for him.

"Artie, no offence but how is a crystal supposed to defeat a demonic, murdering ghost from hell? I mean seriously, it's just a crystal."

Arthur turned a harsh glare to his cousin, blowing off his comments as if they were air with a wave of his hand.

"This" he pointed to the crystal, "is not just any crystal, Alfred. This is a special gem, capable of storing vast amounts of energy, especially, in our case specifically, spiritual energy."

At this Matthew smiled. He sprung from his spot on the bed and wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck, startling the other man.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He laid a small kiss onto the other's cheek as he let go of his neck. He smiled and giggled as Arthur's face lit up, bright red in color, as a result of Matthew's thank you kiss.

"Wait! I don't understand!" Alfred yelled, successfully breaking the happy moment. "How can that rock drive out the spook from the house?"

Freed from his state of shock, Arthur shook his head and turned to face his cousin, sighing a he did so.

"Look, Alfred. Basically, if we're lucky and do this right, the General will be sucked inside of the crystal, which will store his vast amount of negative spiritual energy. He'll never be able to escape and thus he will be trapped forever, as long as no stupid idiot lets him out."

"Ohhhh! Why didn't you say that before? It would have been way easier to understand!"

Arthur slapped is forehead, wishing that he had a much more smarter cousin, or at least one who he didn't have to explain every little detail to.

"So," Alfred started, "What's our plan for booting out the General?"

"Basically, I thought we could just go where he resides and suck him out there. I know some rituals that can dispel or at the very least bring out spirits from the dark in which they're hiding so it'll be ok. He haunts the basement right Matthew?"

The boy nodded at the question he was asked, confirming the other's speculation.

"Wait, we're going into the enormously dark and creepy basement?" Alfred asked incredulously, eyes wide in fear.

"Yes. That _is_ where he resides. We have to get him out by the root, just like a weed. If we don't he'll just come back and we wouldn't gain access to the guest bedroom. He is the one keeping it locked and inaccessible."

Once he was through, Arthur made his way off the bed, Matthew floating a little behind him. Alfred however, stayed rooted to his spot on the mattress, fear coursing through his veins.

"We're not really going there are we?" He asked meekly. His only response was a nod from his blonde haired cousin

"But-but the basement's scary!" He crawled to the edge of the bed contemplating if he should follow his cousin or just stay in the safety of the room. "It's so dark and…and scary!"

"Alfred," Matthew turned to look at him with his large violet eyes. "You're coming right? You said that you would help get rid of him and that you were a hero. Don't you want to help me see my parents again?" His eyes started water and his lower lip quivered just a bit. Alfred could feel his heart wither and clench. Not wanting Matthew to start crying, Alfred jumped off the bed and ran towards the smaller body, his fear dissipating a little.

"Yes! I want to help you! I am the hero! Please Matthew! Don't cry! I don't want you to cry!"

"Will you go into the basement and help Arthur?" A tear rolled down his ghostly face.

"Yes! I'll do anything! Please just don't cry! It would be unheroic of me to make you cry!"

With that, he ran off, joining Arthur as he made his way to the kitchen and the door that led to the basement. Matthew chuckled to himself, praising himself on his great acting skills. He quickly caught up to the two other blondes at the door to the basement and watched as they started to descend the creaking, wooden stairs.

Once they were down stairs in the dark, Arthur groped the walls, looking for a light switch. Finding it, he flicked it on and light streamed the area. The basement was still mostly dark, due to the fact that an evil spirit resided there and a ghostly chill ran through both of their spines. Arthur cursed that he hadn't thought to bring at least a candle.

Finding an appropriate spot on the floor, Arthur pulled out some white chalk he had in his front vest pocket. Drawing a circle around the two of them, he turned to his companion.

"Whatever you do, DON'T leave the circle. I mean it Alfred. DON'T leave it." The other opened his mouth, wanting to say something but was swiftly cut off. "If you leave the circle you may become possessed and I really don't want to deal with that. Ok?" The other nodded. "Good. Now stand a little back. You naturally have a high spiritual energy and I'll use you to attract him over. Just don't stand outside the circle."

Alfred nodded and stood back, giving Arthur more space to work. He watched and listened as his cousin began to chant. Mystical and foreign words spilled from his mouth and Alfred could feel the air around him getting colder and colder. Suddenly, he felt it, an ocean's worth of something, something sinister, flooding around his body and he felt as if he were drowning in it. He wanted to run, to flee from this threatening presence but he didn't, couldn't even if he wanted to. Instead, he focused on Arthur's chanting, breathing in and out slowly and relaxed his body as much as he could. He masked his fear, thinking only of Matthew, of Arthur, of how happy he will be once this menace was gone.

Alfred opened his eyes and had to inhale a lung full of air through his nose to stop the scream that lodged itself inside his throat. All around was a thick fog of bluish white smoke, the feeling of negative energy spawning from the clouds. The malevolence hit him in thunderous, bone breaking waves and he felt as if he was going to be consumed by some horrible, monstrous beast spawned from the ocean of evil around him.

Arthur's chanting was louder, he noticed. He observed that his cousin was focused, eyes narrowed as he faced a rather large cloud, most likely the largest of them all. He pulled out the crystal and swung it in front of him, chanting louder and louder as the colossal spiritual mass surged forward, intending to kill it's oppressor.

All of a sudden, the crystal began to shine, lavender light radiating around the room in shining streaks. Before the beast could stop it's charge, it found itself being sucked into the gleaming gem. It let out shrieks of pain and Alfred had to rapidly cover his own ears to block out the ear splitting sound. Faster and faster the fog around them began to clear as every last remnant of the menace was swallowed up by the precious gem until there was nothing left.

It was over. Sunlight glittered through the windows and cast itself upon the two men still within the chalk white circle. Alfred looked around as so did his cousin. The basement no longer felt like a pool of evil. Everywhere, light shone and there was no trace of a former demon living within it. With shouts of joy on their lips, the two quickly scrambled to the stairs, rapidly climbing it, intent on moving up to the second story and finally to the third guest room.

Once at the top of the stairs, the two hastily took note of Matthew's disappearance. The little boy was nowhere to found.

"Matthew! Matthew where are you?" Alfred called out, looking around him and up and down the banister. He was nowhere to be found and Alfred resigned to join his cousin outside the door of the guest room.

Once Alfred was by his side, Arthur slowly reached out a hand and grabbed the door knob, slowly turning it as if he were trying to see if their exorcism really worked. With a small "click" sound, the door opened and the two got their first look into what was the formally locked guest room.

It was plain. The walls were white with a light brown trim and the window curtains, as well as the sheets and other bedding, were the same light brownish color with white mixed in it. There was a small bedside table, much like the one in Matthew's room, next to the right side of the bed and a small lamp was placed upon it. In all, the room was somewhat homey looking, especially for a room that supposedly held the skeleton of a small child within it.

The two walked inside and over to the blank wall across from the bed. Arthur placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes.

"It's here. I'm almost positive he's in here. We just need to get through this barrier…" He opened his eyes and looked at the wall paper.

"I have hammers and other tools in the shed. I'll go get them."

With that said, Alfred quickly ran off to the back shed behind the house. Ten minutes later, he arrived back at the room, two sledgehammers and a shovel in his hands. Together, a hammer in each of their hands, the two began to beat the wall. Slowly, the bricks hidden behind the paper began to crumble and soon a cavity had formed. Sticking his head into the wall, Alfred began to snatch larger pieces of red brick, clearing the hole.

For hours the two worked, shifting out the bright red bricks and white wall paper, hoping to find anything that resembled human bone. After many minutes of sorting and shifting, Arthur called for a break. It was night and the two promised that they would resume first thing tomorrow morning. Quickly, they fell asleep on the bed, exhausted from the day's activities, not even minding the thin layer of dust that rested upon the sheets.

The morning rays shone upon their faces and the family members rose from bed, rested and ready to continue their search. As they eyed the cavity in the wall and all the small chunks of brick, wall paper and other materials, one question arose in both of their minds. How would they find bones in the soup of debris that lay inside?

Struck with an idea, Alfred ran down into the shed once more, bringing up with him sheets of metal that could be used like a colander and long blocks of wood, as well as a hammer and nails. In record time, he fixed up two homemade shifters, and handed one to Arthur. Jointly, they gathered sediment from the hole in the wall and shifted through the sediment.

For a while neither Alfred nor Arthur could find anything but with a stroke of luck, Alfred managed to pull out a small, white fragment. Proudly displaying it for Arthur, the two realized that it was bone. Matthew's bone. Quickly and encouraged by their find, the two shifted through more and more sediment, hoping to find more.

In all they found only three more fragments. Disappointed but happy none the less, the two took the fragments and placed them in an ornate box Alfred had found in the attic when he moved into the house. With the box in hand, Arthur and Alfred managed to give the boy a proper burial out in the front garden, under a rather large and shady tree.

"Good bye Matthew." Alfred said solemnly as he placed the small, golden box into the ground. "I know you're happy now that you're with your family."

As he covered the small grave with dirt and a few magnificent flowers, Alfred could swear that he heard the sound of laughter, sweet and joyful fill the air. As he turned to find the source, he spied Matthew, together and happy with his father and mother. The small boy waved to him and slowly, the now complete family disappeared with the blow of the wind.

"Thank you Alfred!" He though he heard as the breeze blew past him.

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**I'm sorry that the ending seemed kind of rushed but I couldn't figure out any way to end it without the story sounding bad. At least everyone is happy :D Anyway thank you for reading and sticking with it till the end! Oh and BTW, I made a huge load of drafts for my other stories including the one for the kink meme. I'm trying to stick with my plan of updating every week either on Saturday, Sunday, or Friday evening. It may switch to every other weekend though so yeah...just look out for the updates! Thanks everyone! **


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